UNSC destroyer

Destroyer
	; A Halberd-class destroyer
Production information
Class:	Destroyer
Role:	Fleet escort, assault
Technical specifications
Length:	Varies by class Standard model 485 meters (1,590 ft);
Engine(s):	Fusion drive
Slipspace drive:	Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine
Hull:	1.5 - 2 meters titanium-A battle plate
Armament:	Magnetic Accelerator Cannons (2); Shiva-class nuclear missiles (3); Archer missile pods (26); Twin-linked 50mm point-defense autocannons (8×);
Complement:	Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles; D77-TC Pelicans;
Chronological and affiliation
Era:	Insurrection; Human-Covenant War; Post-War Era;
Affiliation:	Colonial Military Authority (defunct) ; UNSC Navy

Destroyer is a warship classification in the UNSC Navy, as well as the now-defunct Colonial Military Authority. Its hull classification symbol is DD. Fast, maneuverable, and designed for long-term endurance, destroyers are intended to escort larger vessels such as cruisers and carriers.

Classes

The Navy has made use of several destroyer classes which vary widely in design.

Class	Image	Details
Halberd class		The Halberd class in service as early as 2517^[6] and continued to serve throughout the Human-Covenant War. One of the most notable Halberd-class destroyers was the UNSC Iroquois, captained by Commander Jacob Keyes, which performed the daring Keyes Loop during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV. This destroyer type continues to be in service with the Navy by 2557.^[7]
Unidentified light destroyer class		The light destroyer was in service prior to the Insurrection, and predated the introduction of the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Three such vessels famously took part in the Callisto Incident.
Able-class heavy destroyer		The Able class has been in service with the Navy since 2490.^[8] In 2497, the heavy destroyer UNSC Gorgon was the first ship of its class to be armed with a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, for which the ship carried only three slugs.^[9] Then-Captain Preston Cole served on this ship during the Insurrection. The Gorgon was later assigned to Admiral Cole's fleet during the Human-Covenant War.^[10]
Hillsborough class		Similar in design to a cruiser,^[6]^[11] the CMA destroyer Heracles belonged to the Hillsborough class of destroyer. The Heracles was the command ship of Battle Group 4 following the disastrous first contact with the Covenant.^[11]
Diligence class		The Diligence-class is an older class of destroyer formerly operated for peacekeeping purposes by the Colonial Military Authority.^[12] The class has a wide beam and is almost equally tall. Numerous large antennae are mounted across the hull. By the start of the Covenant War, the Diligence-class had been retired for decades, though some ships were brought back into service and retrofitted for used in the war.^[12] The only known vessel of this class, the UNSC Kronstadt, deployed an ODST-Spartan team during a raid on Heian at some point between 2540 and 2551.^[13]

Known destroyers

Name	Earliest sighting	Engagements	Status	Notable information
UNSC Agincourt	2543	Battle of Psi Serpentis	Destroyed	Sacrificed to protect Battle Group India
UNSC Armageddon's Edge	2535			Refitted in 2535 after a previous engagement with the Covenant
UNSC Brasidas	October 20, 2552	Battle of Earth Onyx Conflict	Destroyed along with the rest of Admiral Patterson's battle group
UNSC Buenos Aires	March 2, 2494	Callisto Incident	Destroyed by booby-trapped nuclear bomb
UNSC Calcutta	2530		Engines salvaged for UNSC Spirit of Fire
UNSC Clearidas	2535	Battle of Hat Yai Battle of Skopje
UNSC Do You Feel Lucky?	2535	Battle of Charybdis IX	Destroyed	Boarded by Covenant forces
UNSC Glasgow Kiss	November 3, 2552	Battle of Earth Onyx Conflict	Destroyed	Sacrificed to protect Patterson's battle group
UNSC Gorgon	2502	Skirmish at Capella
UNSC The Heart of Midlothian	Bet. 2535-2552	Algolis Invasion	Self-destructed	Boarded by Covenant forces
CMA Heracles	2525	First Battle of Harvest	Investigated colony world Harvest with Battle Group 4
UNSC Herodotus	July 2552	Battle of Sigma Octanus IV Fall of Reach	Destroyed
UNSC Iroquois	July 2552	Battle of Sigma Octanus IV		Utilized the Keyes Loop maneuver to destroy three Covenant ships
UNSC Iwo Jima	November 3, 2552	Battle of Earth Onyx Conflict	Self-destructed to inflict damage upon Covenant fleet
UNSC Jericho	2494	Callisto Incident	Damaged by nuclear blast
UNSC Kronstadt	After 2540	Assassination mission on Heian
UNSC Lancelot	July 2552	Battle of Sigma Octanus IV	Presumed destroyed	Enacted suicidal charge on Covenant fleet
UNSC Las Vegas	2494	Callisto incident	Damaged by nuclear blast
UNSC Majestic	August 30, 2552	Fall of Reach	Presumably killed Spartan Beta-Red via friendly fire
UNSC Minotaur	2552	Fall of Reach	Destroyed	Cut in half by Covenant weapons
UNSC Monte Cassino	January 2553		Active
UNSC Persephone	2521		Self-destructed	Boarded by insurrectionists
UNSC Pioneer	2525	Assault on Eridanus Secundus		Participated in an operation to capture Colonel Robert Watts
UNSC Resolute	2535	Battle of Jericho VII
UNSC Seattle	2543	Battle of 18 Scorpii
UNSC Tharsis	2552	Fall of Reach	Destroyed
UNSC Thermopylae	2543	Battle of 18 Scorpii

Gallery

The Hillsborough-class destroyer CMA Heracles transitioning from slipspace.
Heracles, accompanied by two frigates, emerges from slipspace.
The Heracles over Harvest with Battle Group 4.
The Halberd-class destroyer The Heart of Midlothian.
A schematic of The Heart of Midlothian.
The Halberd-class destroyer UNSC Pioneer.
The Halberd-class destroyer Iroquois collides with a Covenant stealth ship.
The UNSC Iroquois from its bow, unleashing a full volley of Archer missiles.
Concept art of the UNSC The Heart of Midlothian.
Various concept explorations for the Halberd-class destroyer's design.
Various concept explorations for the Halberd-class destroyer's design.
The Diligence-class destroyer Kronstadt near Heian.
UNSC destroyers, with Autumn-class heavy cruisers and UNSC Infinity, over Earth following the New Phoenix Incident.

List of appearances

Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
Halo: First Strike
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Halo: The Cole Protocol
Halo Wars: Genesis
Halo Wars (Mentioned only)
Halo Legends
- Prototype (Mentioned only)
- The Babysitter
Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
Halo: Fall of Reach
- Boot Camp
- Covenant
- Invasion
Halo: Glasslands
Halo: Escalation
Halo: Nightfall (Mentioned only)
Halo: Last Light

Notes

Sources

^ ^a ^b Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 248
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 139
^ ^a ^b ^c Halo Waypoint: UNSC The Heart of Midlothian
^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 13
^ Halo: The Cole Protocol, page 24
^ ^a ^b Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp
^ Halo: Escalation, Issue 10
^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Digsite Dissection (Retrieved on Jul 28, 2023) [archive]
^ Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
^ Halo: The Fall of Reach Definitive Edition, page 303-304
^ ^a ^b Halo Wars: Genesis
^ ^a ^b Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder
^ Halo Legends - The Babysitter

[enc-1] Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 248

[class-2] Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 139

[waypoint-3] Halo Waypoint: UNSC The Heart of Midlothian

[4] Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 13

[5] Halo: The Cole Protocol, page 24

[BC-6] Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp

[7] Halo: Escalation, Issue 10

[CFDigsite-8] Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Digsite Dissection (Retrieved on Jul 28, 2023) [archive]

[9] Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole

[10] Halo: The Fall of Reach Definitive Edition, page 303-304

[Genesis-11] Halo Wars: Genesis

[clarity-12] Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder

[13] Halo Legends - The Babysitter

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